Apple WWDC23 preview: The most important product in the past 10 years will be released. Will Apple enter the AI ​​war?

At 01:00 a.m. on Tuesday (June 6), Beijing time, Apple's 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC23) "Code a New Universe" will officially kick off, and the most important keynote speech session of the conference will be held at the same time held.

In recent years, Apple’s tradition of keeping products highly confidential seems to have loosened. With the continuous revelations of supply chain news, the outside world can generally guess the company's new hardware.

Looking ahead to this conference, the long-awaited mixed reality (MR) headset will be unveiled for the first time, representing Apple's entry into a new field. Not only that, this may become the company’s most important hardware product since the release of the iPad in 2010 and the Apple Watch in 2014.

In order to support the head display, the market expects Apple to also announce a new operating system "xrOS". In addition, the new MacBook, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, and watchOS 10 may also receive major upgrades.

The long-rumored headset will make its debut

Although Apple has not officially confirmed the existence of this product, multiple sources have confirmed that it will be unveiled by then. There is no doubt that this product is expected to be one of the most exciting products of this developer conference and even Apple in recent years.

Well-known fruit chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed out on social media over the weekend that if this device is successfully released, will have a huge impact on 3D interactive design and 3D computer graphics, to the same extent as the chatbot ChatGPT. The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) or artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) is modest.

Based on reports from multiple media, this MR headset will be named "Reality Pro" and will sell for about US$3,000, or about 21,000 yuan. Although it is scheduled to be released in the early morning of tomorrow, investment bank analysts believe that it may not enter mass production until October this year, and it will not be officially launched before the US shopping season in December.

In terms of appearance, it is reported that it will adopt a curved design, which is very thin and lightweight. The edge of the curved mirror is wrapped by a smooth aluminum frame, which looks slightly thicker than the iPhone. The headband of the headphones is made of soft material and is connected to two short, stiff temples, which also house the left and right speakers. A soft, removable cover secures to the back of the headset, and an adjustable headband ensures a comfortable fit.

In addition, this headset may adopt an external battery design - it will be equipped with an

external battery

that can be put into the user's pocket and can last for two hours. The power button is located above the left eye of the device. , this approach can reduce the weight of the headset to improve comfort during use.

In terms of optical display, Apple MR equipment will adopt the Pancake MicroOLED solution and the IPD (pupillary distance) monocular independent adjustment solution to provide higher visual comfort. Many media predict that the screen supplier will be Sony. According to information from the AR circle, Apple MR is expected to become the first VR headset to achieve independent interpupillary distance adjustment for one eye.

Apple also developed two independent M2 series chips for the device, including a main SoC chip code-named Staten (including CPU, GPU and memory), and a dedicated image signal processor code-named Bora (ISP) chip, used to process images captured by external cameras and restore the surrounding environment. With these two chips and an independent operating system, the device can complete calculations independently and does not need to be used with an iPhone. It can directly download the content the user needs, including iCloud data, but can be linked with other Apple devices.

According to Gurman’s revelation, Apple specially built a “large structure” in its headquarters in order to demonstrate MR equipment to WWDC attendees and the media. Apple is preparing to continue with more demos over the coming summer. It is reported that at Apple’s conference, the company will focus on displaying immersive FaceTime, Apple TV content and games focusing on VR.

xrOS and software ecosystem

Multiple reports have mentioned that the MR headset will have an operating system independent of iOS, and Apple is applying for trademarks for the device's system around the world. Following xrOS and xrProOS, three more trademarks, Reality OS, realityproOS and realOS, have been exposed.

According to Gurman’s revelations, the application may also provide advanced video virtual conference rooms with lifelike characters, which is expected to make headset users participating in the meeting immersive. “Users of MR headsets will be able to Operate multiple applications in the space, and the applications can be placed in a specific physical space like a living room. When the user enters this living room, half of the applications they used before will reappear."

Financial Associated Press previously mentioned that Gurman revealed that Apple has not really found a "killer" app to make this device a necessity for consumers. Correspondingly, Apple is stepping up its efforts to build a software ecosystem and preparing to adapt hundreds of thousands of iPad tablet applications to new devices. Gurman calls this strategy "throwing everything at the consumer."

Gurman said that most of the applications running on the iPad will land on this MR device, including books, cameras, contacts, FaceTime calls, files, boundless notes, home, mail, maps, information, music, Notes, photos, reminders, Safari, stocks, videos and weather.

He pointed out that this is not a "crazy" approach because Apple adopted this strategy when it launched the Apple Watch. In addition, users can operate the headset through hand-eye control and Siri. It can also be used with a keyboard or as an external display for Apple computers. Many Apple executives believe that the head-mounted display device may be slow to develop at first, but it is expected to eventually become a long-term hardware product like the iPhone.

iOS and other system upgrades

WWDC is an event held for developers, and some updates for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS are naturally indispensable. Gurman said that this year's new MacOS may not change much, but will bring compatibility for the new features launched in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

Regarding the possible release of iOS 17 this time, analysts believe that it will have the latest experience of Apple CarPlay, allowing changes to Siri, support for MR headsets and other functions. Last month, a whistleblower said that Apple is preparing to allow iPhone users to install applications from unofficial stores for the first time in iOS 17.

Apple is also preparing to launch a new mobile application "Jurassic" at WWDC, which will allow users to record their daily activities. Apple's move is aimed at expanding its presence in the health market. Once launched, it will be pre-installed on every iPhone equipped with the latest operating system.

iOS 17 will also bring a "smart screen mode" that displays upcoming calendar appointments and other information and notifications when horizontally and locked; the new diary application allows people to record their actions, moods and Share with friends; the SharePlay function will be enhanced related to the Apple headset function, and AirPlay will also simplify the process, making it easier for users to project content to hotel TVs and speakers. .

The media has reported very little about the macOS update, but Gurman said that watchOS 10 will provide a sizable update that adds a new widget interface. The overall goal of this new design is to make People "access information faster."

MacBook Air

In addition to the new MR device, the media expects Apple to launch a larger, 15-inch version of the MacBook Air, which has long used a standard 13-inch display. Developer logs disclosed by the media last month showed that Apple has begun using third-party programs from the App Store to test the new machine to verify its compatibility, which is often a necessary step before the release of a new device.

Test logs show that this new MacBook is codenamed "Mac 15,3" and uses the same chip as the current M2. It has 8 main processors and 10 graphics cores. It is also equipped with 8G of memory, which is the same as the current M2. Some MacBook Airs are comparable, but have larger displays and higher resolutions.

At the same time, thanks to the larger body size, the new phone will also be equipped with a larger-capacity battery, resulting in amazing battery life.

In addition, foreign media also predict that Apple may update Mac Studio during the conference. However, foreign media also mentioned that with the expected launch of Mac Pro, the fate of Mac Studio is also uncertain.

Whether it will be officially announced to join the AI ​​war

Guo Mingchi’s latest analysis mentioned that compared to the head display mentioned above, investors seem to be more interested in understanding Apple’s related efforts in AI. This sign is even more important after AI computing power boosts Nvidia’s performance. To be obvious. He also pointed out that in the long term, the success of Apple’s headset depends on whether it can be highly integrated with AI or AIGC.

He said that if Apple announces the launch of AIGC services at WWDC, it will help continue investors’ current AI investment sentiment. If Apple has higher hardware specification requirements for AIGC, it may also lead to an increase in demand for hardware replacement.

In January of this year, it was reported that Apple was developing new software tools to allow developers and customers to create AR applications for its headsets, including through Siri.

Gurman also discovered a new listing posted on Apple’s employment website. The new positions it is recruiting clearly require experience in machine learning development to study machine learning models.

It was reported in March that Apple was "re-examining" its work in artificial intelligence. The company is now thought to be testing generative AI concepts that may one day be destined for Siri.

Source: Financial Associated Press

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